Handmade Lavender Sachets

Summer vacation season is coming up, RVs are being taken out of storage and cleaned, luggage is being pulled out and aired.   It’s the perfect time to have a  lavender sachet or several sachets to sneak into baggage, or drawers before you head out.

Besides the practicality of the sachets, it’s so much nicer to sit outside crafting than it is indoors doing anything else.  This post is starting with tutorials for the two embroidery stitches.  If you know how to embroider, the sewing portion is farther down the post.

To make four sachets you will need:

How to Embroider the Lavender Pattern

This little sachet is a perfect starter project.  It’s inexpensive, the pattern is simple, and you get the reward of a sachet at the end.  There are only two stitches in this little embroidery pattern,  the stems are done in a back stitch, and the purple blossoms are a lazy daisy stitch.

Transferring the Lavender Pattern

Lay the ironed fabric good side up, then the carbon paper.  Cut out the pattern and place the top edge of the pattern to the top of the material.  Center the pattern with your eye and then using a pointed objected trace the pattern.

Note:  The little marks for the placement of the daisy stitches is optional.  It simple to just free stitch it and the pattern gives you a reference for where they go.

How to Use Embroidery Floss

Real embroidery floss is different than the dollar store cotton.  Embroidery floss has six threads that you separate for different purposes.    For the stems you will separate the green thread into 2 strands,  the blossoms are done in 3 strands.

Cut your thread about a foot long.  Then separate your threads from the center of the floss.  Don’t do it from the end its tangles much too easily.

Pinch the threads using your thumbs and work the single strands out.

Once you have two of the threads separated out,  pull them apart until separated.

Place your material with the transfer in the hoop,  with the pattern in the center, make sure it’s tight.

The Back Stitch

There are different stitches you can use for sewing lines in embroidery, but I am only going to share the stitches for the sachet.  The back stitch is used to colour along the straight lines.

Start your thread along the bottom of an outside stem,  push your thread up from the bottom.  Leaving an inch of thread.  As you work the rest of your stitches, move that little thread on the underside so it’s tucked in.

Push the needle down from the topside less than a 1/4″, pull through to the underside,  push up 1/4 inch, then push down in the hole of the previous stitch.  Repeat.

This material is thin and white so the messy threads will show through.  When you reach the end of the stem, work on the underside and tuck it into the stitches.

The above picture shows the start and the end of the branches, and how the ends are tucked in before being trimmed.

The Daisy Stitch

Use the daisy stitch for the purple blossoms,  the stitches can be in variable lengths from 1/8 the to 1/3 inch long.     I made a really large on so I can illustrate the stops, it’s actually very fast to sew.

1.  Push the thread up from the underside of the hoop.
2. Give extra thread to make a loop.
3. Push the needle down through the top of the hoop next to the up stitch.
4. Push the thread up the distance you want to determine the petal length.
5. Push the thread back down to hold the end of the loop.

Build your petals outwards in groups of four, wherever you like on the branches.  I did 3 at the top and one farther down the stems.

The embroidery does not need to be perfect.  Just remember to tie in the ends, cut off the little bits, sew in small stitches.  Embroidery is like painting with No Mess, you take a little more time colouring, and a whole lot less time cleaning.  I did these in half an hour each.  These will take you between half an hour and hour to sew.  I love doing it outside on the deck in the sunshine.

Before sewing the sachets, take a look at the back of your stitching and trim off all the excess threads.  I missed a couple and had to open a sachet to remove them.

Sewing Lavender Sachets

Cutting the Material

Besides the embroidered squares, you will need to cut twelve 5″ by 6″ pieces of white linen, and eight 5″ by 6 ” of blue fabric.

The embroidery squares were cut larger to fit the embroidery hoop.

Guesstimate the center of your lavender embroidery and measure 2.5 inches out on both sides.  Trim the fabric, leaving it at five inches.

Fold and Iron the Blue Coordinating Fabric.

Place your blue material so the 5″ width is horizontal.  Fold the top over creating a 1″ hem at the top.  Iron well.  Do this for all eight pieces.

Layer the embroidered fabric with a second layer of white fabric.  Zig-zag stitch all around to hold them together while sealing the thread edges.

Line up the top of the blue fabric to the embroidered fabric so that it rests against the bottom of the stems.  Line up the fabric on all the sachets your making, you likely have extra blue fabric hanging down, that’s ok.

Leave the folded edge unsewn, sew along the white fabric edges on the other three sides.

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Depending on how you placed your embroidery pattern you may have excess fabric.  I was generous with the fabric sizing to allow for this.  Trim off the excess blue fabric making sure not to cut the zig-zag stitching.

Do the same on the back pieces, making sure to align the top of the blue fabric evenly.

Once sewn and trimmed pair the front and back together, and work them in pairs.

Finishing the Sachet

Sew a length of lace along the front sachet panel.    For the back panel, you can leave the folded portion as is, or sew along the edge.  I left mine as is.

Place the two panels good sides together and sew 1/2 seams all the way around except for the bottom.

Turn the sachets good side out, pull out the corners and press well.

Fill the sachets with 1/2 cup dried lavender flowers.  Mixed with a few drops of lavender oil if wanted.  Fold the bottom edges in and sew closed with a needle and thread.

These sachets took two evenings to create.  One for the embroidery the second one for sewing them together.  They are such a special little treat for me to use inside of luggage, or my linen drawers.  I am certain to make more in a different style.  They are so fun to do.

Let me know if I have tempted you to embroider if you have not done so.  It would also be very helpful if you provided me with feedback on how detailed the tutorial is.  Do you like it that detailed?

DIY Pin Cushion with Embroidery

If your wanting to try another easy embroidery craft I think you will like this DIY Pin Cushion I made. Like the lavender satchets it has a free embroidery pattern, and can be made with scrap fabric.

DIY Pin Cushion with Simple Embroidery